Let's learn Japanese to express a hot summer / Japanese Learning Support LLC | blog

Let's learn some Japanese phrases to express a hot summer.

The rainy season in 2026 was quite typical of the rainy season, with pleasantly cool breezes, but from mid-July onwards, we've had a string of scorching hot days, and the sound of cicadas echoes beautifully in the clear summer sky.

It's already August, and in Tokyo, the humid heat continues, making you sweat just by going outside for a short while.

Global warming is becoming an increasingly pressing issue that is looming closer each year, but...

but!!

With this intense heat, the season for outdoor activities like going to the beach or mountains has returned after a year, and it really lifts my spirits.

To everyone who took the first Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) of 2026 last month, thank you for your hard work.

The results won't be available until later this month (perhaps after August 20th), so I'm eagerly awaiting them, but for now, I want to forget about it and have a good summer.

In this blog post, we'll take a look at some Japanese expressions for describing heat.

1. Feel the wind.

2. Look up at the sun

3. Let's go out in short sleeves and shorts.

4. Summer life

1. Feel the breeze (summer air)

In late July and August, the peak of summer, the moment you open the door and step outside, you're hit with an incredible heat!

1) It feels stuffy/humid

"Summer air feels soft and humid, almost like it's filled with moisture."

Example: The moment I stepped out the front door, I was enveloped in the humid summer air.

Example: When I opened the window, a humid breeze blew in.

2) Like being in a sauna

"The humidity in Japanese summers is especially intense!"

Example: I feel like I'm in a sauna . I'm drenched in sweat just from walking from my house to the station.

Example: The air outside is like a sauna , so you'll collapse if you don't drink lots of water!

3) A lukewarm night breeze

"Even walking to the convenience store at night, I start sweating in no time. It's so 'summer' that I can't even remember what cooler seasons were like."

Example: On summer evenings, even if you're just taking a walk, the lukewarm night breeze quickly makes your clothes sticky.

Example: Walking around a festival in a yukata, the warm night breeze makes shaved ice taste absolutely amazing.

4) A stuffy room

"In Japanese summers, even the walls feel damp and soft."

Example: It's so humid in this room, I can't sleep at all even with the window open.

For example, when eating in a humid room , sweat drips down my glasses uncontrollably.

2. Looking up at the sun (Summer weather)

The big sun suits the summer sky so well. Even with sunscreen on, I quickly get a tan on my arm, leaving the mark of my watch. It's another hot summer this year.

1) Glittering

"The sun shining above the vibrant sunflowers is so dazzling that you can almost hear the sound effects."

Example: The blazing sun is waiting early this morning.

Example: The beach is so hot under the blazing sun that the sand is practically burning.

2) Slowly

"Even if you use a straw hat or parasol, you'll still get sunburned when you get home."

Example: The intersection where you're waiting for the traffic light is so hot under the scorching sun that you feel like you're going to get burned.

Example: The scorching summer sun is relentless, and even the ice cream is dripping with sweat.

3) Look up at the sky

"The summer sky is so vast, so blue, and so dazzling."

Example: The weather is too nice every day. Even under this scorching sun, the sports club members are running and running with energy...

Example: Summer hikes, with their endlessly clear blue skies , make you forget your fatigue.

Example: Look! It's a huge cumulonimbus cloud . It looks like an ice cream cone.

3. Let's go out in short sleeves and shorts (even in the middle of summer, strolling around town on your days off is fun).

On a scorching August afternoon, when the sun is beating down intensely, even the asphalt ground gets as hot as a hot pot or griddle.

1) A shimmering heat haze rising into the air

"Dogs going for walks must have really hot paws."

Example: In Shinjuku in August, stepping onto a main street , the sunlight seems to melt away even the sounds, and heat haze shimmers and sways across the cityscape.

2) Cicadas are a symbol of Japan; it would be lonely without them in towns.

Does it sound like an uplifting cheer, or just a commotion that makes the heat worse?

For example, if you're lucky, you might encounter the sound of cicadas chirping so loudly that it seems to rain down on you if you step into the shade of a tree in the summer.

"Jee-jee-jee" isn't enough, and "meen-min-min" is the same; if you listen carefully, you can hear a truly colorful array of sounds. When you start hearing "ho-shi-tsuku-tsuku," it's a sign that summer is drawing to a close.

4. Summer Life (My most memorable shaved ice experience is probably Blue Hawaii.)

Chilled watermelon and barley tea are perfect for enduring the sweltering heat of summer, when you're sweating profusely. It's strange, but somehow, your body gets used to the August breeze, and you find yourself wishing for more days of coolness to be spent listening to the sound of wind chimes...

1) The Obon holiday is fun

"I always feel nostalgic about those summer holidays spent with family, where we can take off our ties."

Example: I've been working non-stop since Golden Week, so I want to really splurge on my solo trip during the Obon holidays !

Example: When I used to stay at my grandparents' house during the Obon festival , I remember the smell of tatami mats.

For example, when night falls earlier in August, why do the lights of the Bon Odori festival feel so nostalgic?

2) Festival

"In towns where festival music can be heard, the sight of people in yukata and happi coats creates a lively and exciting atmosphere."

For example, I've heard stories of people who carefully raised goldfish they caught at a festival's goldfish scooping game, and they grew to be as big as carp.

Example: Carrying the portable shrine is the highlight of the festival , and even the pain in a swollen shoulder feels good.

3) Fireworks

"It's fun to munch on yakisoba and okonomiyaki bought from a night market, and fireworks are best enjoyed on a hot and humid evening."

Example: When I was a child, our dog would get scared and cower every year when the fireworks started.

For example: There's nothing particularly special about it, but even now I can vividly remember the smell of the wind on the night road where I walked for hours to watch the fireworks .

For example, I feel nostalgic for the crowded streets on the way home from a fireworks display , but I also feel incredibly lonely walking home from the station while munching on ice cream.

That's all for today's blog post.

I took a look at some Japanese words that evoke images of a hot summer.

I would be delighted if this evokes a summer scene and connects to an experience you had some time ago using Japanese imagery.

Since it only happens once a year, once it's over, I look forward to its return a year later, and as the rainy season approaches and we await summer, the events of a year ago suddenly seem so far away, and I'm filled with nostalgia.

It's strange, because in reality, summer is just unbearably hot and humid.

For someone who spends their days immersed in studying Japanese, this time of year, after taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and waiting for the results, is a time to relax and enjoy some freedom.

According to the current calendar, the sauna-like air will disappear by October, so this scorching season is only for a short time until then.

Once it's over, just like the saying goes, "Once the danger is past, the heat fades," and it quickly recedes into the distance, making the days when you walked around dripping with sweat seem almost unremarkable.

Let's make this summer a great one and have a fantastic time in 2026!

I sincerely wish you all good health.